All kinds of blood diseases (hemorrhagic) are a common phenomenon in modern medicine. About 50% of cases are thrombocytopenic purpura, the causes of which are numerous and do not resemble each other. This disease affects the body at any age.
Thrombocytopenic purpura - causes
Verlhof disease or thrombocytopenic purpura, the causes of which are not thoroughly known until now - a phenomenon discovered by a German scientist back in 1735. In the people it is called a "spotty disease" because in such patients on the surface of the body here and there appear hemorrhages of various sizes.
Disease, in the vast majority of cases, occurs in children from birth to adolescence, and then can completely disappear even without therapeutic measures. In children under the age of two, cases of purpura are more often recorded in boys. In adulthood, this diagnosis is made to 1-13 patients out of 100,000 people, with the majority of the cases being women.
Forms of thrombocytopenic purpura
A blood disease like thrombocytopenic purpura (Verlhof's disease) occurs when blood cells - platelets, are suppressed by their own immune system and die prematurely. The period of their life instead of 7-10 days, is several hours. For the production of autoimmune aggressors, the spleen is responsible. The disease has several forms that depend on the cause of the ailment, but differ little in symptomatology:
- autoimmune or idiopathic;
- heteroimmune;
- transimmune.
Forms of thrombocytopenic idiopathic purpura, regardless of the causes, are divided into:
- sharp;
- Chronic (with frequent, rare or persistent relapses).
Autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura
In some cases, the body begins to work against itself. This is an autoimmune variety of the disease. Platelets are destroyed by the immune system, which perceives them as foreign cells. This type of disease sometimes occurs against the background of another autoimmune process in the body. Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is characterized by the destruction of its own platelets under the influence of several factors. Sometimes this is a genetically transmitted pathology, although in most cases the causes for which the disease occurs are as follows:
- systemic lupus erythematosus ;
- autoimmune hemolytic anemia ;
- allergic vasculitis ;
- chronic lymphocytic leukemia;
- aggressive hepatitis;
- glomerulonephritis .
Heteroimmune thrombocytopenic purpura
In childhood, the heteroimmune (non-immune) version of the disease is thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, occurs much more often than in adults. The good news is that the children's prognosis for recovery is favorable. Causes of the disease are:
- taking certain drugs (paracetamol, furosemide, quinine, ampicillin, cephalosporins, betta-blockers, etc.);
- immunization (vaccination with BCG, whooping cough, smallpox, influenza, poliomyelitis);
- infectious diseases.
Thrombocytopenic purpura - symptoms
The disease of Verlhof, the symptoms of which are very eloquent, differ from the time of the appearance of hemorrhages. That is, in the beginning, bruises or, as they are correctly called by physicians - petechiae, are expressed very brightly, gradually reduce the intensity of color and turn into a cyanotic, green hue, gradually turning yellow. At one point in time, all types of bruises can be on the body, which is an awesome picture, but they are not painful, unlike injuries of traumatic origin in a healthy person.
Bruises are located mainly on the limbs, less often on the body, and very rarely face, but mucous are an exception. Thrombocytopenic purpura has similar symptoms in different people. They can arise as a result of microtrauma, and without a cause. Basically, the hemorrhage occurs at night. In this case, the patient does not experience pain, except for cerebral hemorrhage, when the patient urgently needs hospitalization. Distinguish:
- bleeding mucous (from the nose, gums, uterus);
- internal bleeding (gastrointestinal, renal, ophthalmic, cerebral).
Diagnosis of thrombocytopenic purpura
Verlhof disease, the diagnosis of which does not end with the detection of symptoms, is based on the results of laboratory studies of patients and clinical examination. Doctors make an anamnesis when thrombocytopenic purpura manifested itself for the first time. After the concomitant diseases are diagnosed and various kinds of studies are conducted from taking blood for analysis, before carrying out the bleeding tests. These include:
- Cuff test , when a cuff for pressure measurement is put on hand for 10 minutes. If at the end of this time bloody dots formed under the cuff, the test is positive. It is carried out in children from three years old.
- The test is harnessed when a medical tourniquet is applied to the arm, which after a while gives a bruise - this method is suitable for adult patients.
Thrombocytopenic purpura, involves a series of tests that will show a reliable picture of the patient's blood. These include blood tests for:
- hemoglobin;
- blood clotting speed;
- the level of platelets;
- absence or presence of retraction of the blood clot;
- presence of antiplatelets in the blood.
In addition, in severe cases or with unreliability of other types of diagnosis of thrombocytopenic purpura, bone marrow biopsy is performed - trepanabiopsy. With the help of a special trepan tool, a small puncture of the spine is done in the lumbar region to take a small amount of bone material, periosteum and the cerebrospinal fluid for analysis.
Thrombocytopenic purpura - treatment
Blood diseases require serious attitude, because the health of the patient at any age depends to a great extent on this. Treatment of thrombocytopenic purpura is carried out both in a hospital (during a phase of exacerbation) and at home. It is obligatory to provide the patient with maximum rest and bed rest to minimize the number of traumatic moments. Against this background, traditional medicamental methods are used in conjunction with folk medicine. It is very important to adhere to a certain diet.
How healing is Verlhof's disease?
Depending on at what age and at what stage Verlhof disease was diagnosed, there will be a question of its curability. In childhood, the prognosis is positive, if the baby is diagnosed early and managed to win in six months. After this time, the diagnosis becomes chronic, and it sounds like hemorrhagic thrombocytopenia.
Adults are less fortunate - this condition can accompany them throughout their life with intervals of remission and exacerbation. In some cases, chronic thrombocytopenic purpura can be curable when the spleen is removed, although this does not guarantee 100%. This organ destroys platelets and it is the enemy of the body. The method is used as the last argument, when the other types of treatment were ineffective. Operate as a cavitary method, and with the help of a laparoscopy.
Thrombocytopenic purpura - drugs
The goal of the course of treatment of Verlhof disease is to maintain the level of platelets in the blood at the required level. Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is treated, in most cases successfully, which allows achieving a stable remission for many years. If neither the treatment nor the operation has helped, the scheme for taking medications is changed to a new one. To do this, use:
- Prednisolone (Methylprednisolone) is a steroid hormone-containing drug, to reduce the activity of immunity. It is used in the first stages of treatment, before the removal of the spleen.
- Interferon a2 is used to suppress its own antibodies, when steroid drugs are powerless.
- Immunoglobulin G is used before surgery to increase the level of platelets.
- Immunosuppressants (Cyclophosphamide, Vincristine and Azathioprine) are used when the patient does not perceive another treatment. There is an inhibition of antibodies in the blood, leading to an increase in the number of platelets.
- The drug Danazol, stimulating the pituitary gland with a long reception positively affects the picture of the blood.
Thrombocytopenic purpura - treatment with folk remedies
Acute thrombocytopenic purpura is a blood disease, and therefore herbal medicinal preparations (decoctions) with hemostatic properties are successfully used for its treatment:
- dioecious nettle;
- burnet;
- coral bark;
- chokeberry;
- a shepherd's purse;
- chamomile;
- yarrow.
Diet with thrombocytopenic purpura
There is no special food for Verlhof's illness. It is important that the dishes are used in a slightly warm or cool form. Natural vegetables with thrombocytopenic purpura, like fruits are very useful but they should not cause allergies. The list of recommended products includes:
- porridge - buckwheat, corn, oatmeal;
- fruit and vegetables in the form of juices - carrot, apple, beet, pomegranate, tomato;
- berries - currants, blackberries, raspberries;
- seafood;
- meat - beef.
It is necessary to exclude from the diet:
- salted products;
- smoked products;
- seasonings and spices;
- sour vegetables;
- fast-food products;
- carbonated drinks;
- coffee;
- alcohol.
Thrombocytopenic purpura - complications
The disease of Verlhof, whose complications are very dangerous, necessarily requires strict medical supervision. Complications include:
- cerebral hemorrhage;
- gastric and renal bleeding;
- severe menstrual bleeding in adolescence.
Thrombocytopenic purpura - prevention
When a patient is diagnosed with "thrombocytopenic purpura," this means that for one's own health one has to give up many habits, both harmful and ordinary, a lifestyle change. Preventative measures are aimed at maintaining the level of platelets and hemoglobin due to a rich diet, as well as the exclusion of such traumatic factors:
- swimming;
- active sport;
- hard diet for weight loss;
- stressful situations.